Montana News
Comprehensive coverage of Montana’s statewide news—politics, environment, communities, and culture—delivered with trusted reporting and a local lens.
Calls to end intraparty fight mount after bitter GOP primary season
Some Republicans believe results of the legislative primary mean it’s time for the Montana Republican Party to men…
Montana nonprofit to build slaughterhouse for food bank beef
BILLINGS (AP) — A nonprofit in Montana plans to open a slaughterhouse that will kill and process cattle donated for food banks.
Department of Revenue preps for recreational pot program
While the bill that establishes the framework of recreational cannabis in Montana is still waiting for Gov. Greg Gianforte’s signature, the department that wil…
Experts argue tribes should have jurisdiction over murders
Missing and murdered indigenous people
New law blocks health mandates that affect businesses
HELENA (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law a bill Friday that prohibits actions — such as those taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus —…
Montana to share vaccines with truck drivers from Alberta
HELENA (AP) — Montana will share COVID-19 vaccines with Canadian truck drivers from neighboring Alberta, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Alberta Premier Jason …
Montana governor signs bill targeting transgender athletes
HELENA (AP) — Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Friday banning transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender …
California reports first ever yearly population decline
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's population fell by more than 182,000 people in 2020, marking the first year-over-year loss ever recorded for the nation'…
Fire destroys Montana's historic M&M Cigar Store building
BUTTE AP) — A fire gutted the historic M&M Cigar Store in Butte early Friday.
Yellowstone, Grand Teton parks to resume bus operations
BILLINGS (AP) — Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have resumed large group tours with safety measures intended to limit the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks and being tested with 72 hours before…
Biden unveils '30 by 30' conservation plan
The Biden administration plans to broadly define conservation and encourage private landowners to adopt sustainable practices to meet a goal of protecting 30 p…
'Piano Pat,' Montana Tiki bar entertainer for decades, dies
GREAT FALLS (AP) — Patricia Sponheim, known as "Piano Pat," who entertained crowds at a Tiki bar in downtown Great Falls, Montana, for more than 50 years, has …
Feud breaks out among GOP lawmakers over Snake River dams
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democ…
Vigils, rallies mark day of awareness for Indigenous victims
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some shared agonizing stories of frustration and loss. Others prayed and performed ceremonies. All called for action.
Blackfeet gifts vaccines to neighbors across the border
BABB (AP) — On a cloudy spring day, hundreds lined up in their cars on the Canadian side of the border crossing that separates Alberta and Montana. They had dr…
Plant owners say new law interferes in Colstrip contract
BILLINGS AP) — The majority owners of a coal-fired power plant in southern Montana filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday